1 Corinthians Archives - Calvary Bible Church

SUCKED IN – THE OTHER SIDE OF FUN & GAMES

Posted on Apr 19, 2017 in 1 Corinthians, 1 Peter, Friends, Pride, Worry |

Blows Holes are an impressive display of God’s creation!

Understandably, many sight-seers & tourists get near to them for photo-ops.

The hand-painted warning sign seems to be from a grieving heart. The cross in the bottom corner suggests to me that a loved one of the sign creator may have gotten too close & and perished.

God warns us in His Word that there is peril if we wander too close to certain sin dangers. We will get “sucked” in.

Sometimes those dangers are persons:

“Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company corrupts good morals’.” 1 Corinthians 15:33

Other times those dangers are within us, pride & worry:

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:6-8)

God loves you & me enough to warn us about Spiritual Blow Holes. Stay clear.

Clear as Mud!

Posted on Mar 7, 2017 in 1 Corinthians, Clarity, Preaching, The Gospel |

What speed is that?! High School math was a long time ago for me!

Plenty of things really need to be clear. Two of those things are our presentations of the gospel and preachers’ presentations of the Bible!

1 Corinthians 14:8 is teaching in the context of interpreting biblical tongues (The speaking of known languages by persons who previously had no knowledge of those languages), but it also has relevance & applicability in the matter of the communication of spiritual truth!

“For if the trumpet makes an uncertain sound, who will prepare for battle?”
1 Corinthians 14:8 NKJV

The three rules for communication, especially communication about spiritual truth: Be Clear. Be Clear. Be Clear.

YOU CAN’T PASS ON WHAT YOU DON’T HAVE!

Posted on Feb 3, 2016 in 1 Corinthians, Discipleship, Mentoring |

I don’t imagine that this tutor got many phone calls.

When you can’t spell who you claim to be it kills your credibility.

You can only pass on something that you have. This truth applies to parents, bosses, teachers, politicians, church workers, mentors, pastors ETC.

The Apostle Paul’s words found in 1 Corinthians 11:1 capture this:

“Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.”

Because he had Christ, and because he was consistently imitating Christ, Paul could dare to invite carbon copies!

Be wearing the shoes that you want your followers to fill!

You can only pass on what you first possess!

Tudoring is laughable.

A TEAM

Posted on Nov 4, 2015 in 1 Corinthians, Ministry, Teamwork |

This is our church’s quality & fun on-site ministry team.
We meet together every Tuesday morning for Bible study, prayer and administrative communication.
It is always one of the highlights of my week!
We all have different roles. Yet one shared ambition: Facilitating service to Christ among our brothers & sisters who make up the Incredible Body of Christ, to the glory of God.
1 Corinthians 12:27 captures this:
“Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it.”
How about passing along encouragement to any of the members of this team when you see them next?
It is truly our pleasure to serve the King of Kings by serving you all!

Order & Harmony

Posted on Jul 18, 2015 in 1 Corinthians, Chaos, Order, Romans |

This is one of our home’s rooms. We try to maintain tidiness in our home.
Because Beth & I do better with order. Order helps us to concentrate and to work better in a better frame of mind. Disorder eventually gets us “off of our game”.

1 Corinthians 14:33 …
“… for God is not a God of confusion but of peace …”

Whatever your particular style is, you can be most grateful that your God is perfectly orderly. He very rarely sources chaos. (The Tower of Babel judgment & Romans 1’s judgment of “giving” idolaters “over to” multiplied sins being two exceptions).

So whether you like your house organized or less than organized, take encouragement in your God’s bent toward order & harmony. These are what He has for you in your forever relationship with Him as His child!

IT’S NOT ALWAYS OBVIOUS

Posted on Jul 18, 2015 in 1 Corinthians, Discernment, Matthew |

The Bible warns us about spending a lot of time with some people.
“Do not be deceived: bad company corrupts good morals.” (1 Corinthians 15:33)

A good apple which is long enough with bad apples in the same barrel, goes bad.
Or …
“Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.” (Matthew 7:6)

The boy in the picture is wearing construction cones. These cones tell motorists to steer clear of construction zones.

Often “bad company” people and haters of holy, Gospel truth aren’t as clearly marked!
Ask the Lord for discernment. He will show you when it’s time to steer around dangerous people.